As a nonprofit organization, ICIJ relies on donations to support our investigative journalism. This series provides a regular update on who our major donors are and why they choose to support us. If you have questions or would like to learn more about donating to ICIJ, please contact us.
ICIJ got off to a strong start in 2018 with several new grants supporting our journalism, the development of better data tools and our financial sustainability.
The Bay and Paul Foundations, a family foundation based in New York, became interested in ICIJ’s work after the release of the Paradise Papers last November.
“ICIJ has set the standard for groundbreaking work in investigative journalism. In today’s increasingly kleptocratic world, these efforts become ever more critical in exposing corruption and bringing justice to bear across the hemispheres,” said Fred Bay, the foundation’s president and CEO. The Bay and Paul Foundations approved a general operating grant to ICIJ at the beginning of the year.
ICIJ’s DataShare project was selected as a Magic Grant recipient from the David and Helen Gurley Brown Institute for Media Innovation. DataShare is being developed by our data team as ICIJ’s next search and collaboration tool.
The goal is to provide journalists from around the world with new means of processing and searching their own files and linking their data sets through a secure network.
Such an innovation would allow journalists to discover new relationships and connections that were previously unknown, leading to powerful investigations that uncover corruption, transnational crime and abuse of power.
The John and Florence Newman Foundation is providing support for ICIJ to work with the News Revenue Hub. The News Revenue Hub has worked with a number of U.S.-based nonprofit newsrooms to help them build a more sustainable revenue stream through membership programs for readers (more on that soon!).
“We believe that having the financial and moral support of engaged members worldwide is very important for the long-term success of ICIJ,” Director John Newman said.
“The opportunity to implement the membership program in partnership with the savvy and experienced News Revenue Hub is a huge benefit. From Day One, ICIJ gets to apply ‘best practices’ and, probably more importantly, avoid costly ‘beginner mistakes’ that waste time and money. In short, this presented us with an excellent ‘giving opportunity.’”
Finally, you might remember that ICIJ participated in the News Match campaign last year, which doubled donations we received from individuals. ICIJ received $28,000, the maximum amount an organization could receive from the campaign, from the Fund for Nonprofit News at The Miami Foundation.